Juxtaposition
by Chaotic Century
Summary: Van encounters a small, bustling city in which the gap between rich and poor is evident. He struggles with a form of injustice that, for once, cannot be conquered with the power of the Blade Liger.
1. Enter: Day One

**JUXTAPOSITION**

**Written by Van, ©2003**

**ChaoticCentury.com**

__

Author's Note: This story takes place some time after the defeat of the Death Saurer in "The Capital Ablaze."  Van and Fiona have gone off on their own to search for the Zoid Eve.  Van wishes to visit his sister Maria, and so they are roaming over the countryside on their way to the Wind Colony.

            A new day was dawning.  The sun flooded Planet Zi's rolling, sandy hills with coppery light.  Desert shrubs, as well as the sparse population of hardy plants and trees, lifted their leaves up into its brilliance.

            The bright blue of the sky was matched only by the shiny metal of the Blade Liger.  Van and Fiona sat quietly in the Liger's cockpit, each lost in their own thoughts, as Zeke scampered merrily alongside.  It was slow going, this trip to the Wind Colony, but there was no rush, and no sense in engaging the Liger's boosters when there was no danger.  Van didn't mind.  He knew that his village would probably look exactly the same as when he had left it months ago.  Had it really been less than a year since he had met Zeke and Fiona, and acquired the Shield Liger?  So many adventures had passed, so many battles won and battles lost.  Now, it seemed, there was time to rest.  Prozen had perished in the Death Saurer's explosive demise.  Rudolph was now ruler, and there was, at long last, peace between the Empire and the Republic.  "I wonder if we'll ever have to battle again, Zeke," Van mused.  The little organoid cocked his head in response and softly vocalized a response.

            The Blade Liger walked over the top of a hill, affording its passengers an expansive view of the terrain ahead.  "Van, look.  A village is up ahead!"  Fiona pointed.

            About a mile away, lush green farm fields were visible.  Tiny specks of people could be seen, hunched over their work.  "It's amazing," Van breathed.  "Look how healthy those plants are, way out here in the middle of the desert!  It must be an oasis."

            As they approached, Van was proven right by the numerous ponds and small lakes that dotted the village.  Farmers and field hands looked up in awe as the Blade Liger stepped past.  

            "Look, look!" some cried.  "A blue Zoid!"

            "It's a Republican Zoid, for sure!"

            "Look there!  An organoid!  Could it be?"

            "It's him!  It's really him!"

            Van smiled as dozens of villagers swarmed towards him.  One man in the crowd, who was better dressed than the others in their rough clothes, hurried off down the main road into what was a beautiful and well-populated downtown area.

            "Mayor, you're not going to believe this, but we have reports that Van Flyheight is on the outskirts of town!"

            "Are you sure?"  A large, regal man stood up from behind his mahogany desk.  "This is amazing!  Send a council member to him at once, inviting him and his party to the mansion."

            "Yes, sir!"  The official hastened out of the room.

            "It's such an honor to finally meet you!"

            "You saved us all!"

            "You're reawwy bwave, mithter!"

            The people swarmed around Van, having dropped their tools right in the middle of the farm fields to come greet him.  He laughed nervously, embarrassed at the attention and adoration that was being heaped upon him.  One young woman, standing farther away because of the density of the crowd, watched him intently with shining, royal blue eyes that matched exactly the hue of her choppy, spiked hair.  He was smaller in stature than she would have guessed, but his aura of hope and determination captured her like a trance.  How she wished she could move in closer, touch his hand, look into his wide eyes.

            A movement out of the corner of her eye startled her, and she turned around to find one of the village officials, decked out in his finest regalia, striding purposefully towards them.  Lia grasped the hand of the young girl standing next to her and dashed off back to the cornfields.  A small gray cat followed close at her heels.

            Others who spotted the constable faded away, too, parting and leaving a wide path straight to Van.

            "Mr. Flyheight," the constable said, smiling graciously and extending his hand.  "It is a tremendous honor that you visit our humble Sapphire City."

            "Thanks!" Van said, shaking the man's hand.  "Sapphire City, huh?"

            "Yes, and on behalf of the town I would like to welcome you.  I am Colonel Putney, one of the Trustees here.  Mayor Walton has formally invited you to the mayoral mansion for a grand feast to celebrate your accomplishments."

            "Well, thanks, that's very nice of you, but really, you don't have to . . ."

            "Mr. Flyheight, we insist.  It is a very special day when a national hero graces our streets with his mighty Zoid."

            "Van," Fiona whispered impatiently into her companion's ear.  "Let's go!  I'm hungry!"

            "Rerrrrr," Zeke agreed.

            "Well, alright," Van shrugged, still a bit flustered.  "That sounds fine, Colonel Putney, thank you very much."

            "Excellent!  Please, follow me.  There is a hangar on the mansion's grounds to store your Zoid in."

            Van and Fiona climbed back up into the Liger's cockpit, and it slowly walked off after Putney.  The villagers, returning to the fields now and picking up their tools, watched it retreat into town.

            Later that night, Mayor Walton stood and raised his massive goblet, towering high over the heavily-laden and lavishly-decorated table.  "A toast, to Van and his Blade Liger, heroes of Planet Zi!"  The feast attendees, consisting of other town officials, some high-ranking merchants, and their families, all clapped and cheered, drowning out the clinking of glasses.

            Van grinned like an idiot and scratched the back of his head, unsure of what to say or do.  

            "It would be a great honor, Mr. Flyheight, if you would spend the next few days here at the mayoral mansion as my guest," the mayor continued.  "Sapphire City is a beautiful outpost here in the middle of the desert, a shining jewel among endless, hostile sands.  It has much to offer a discriminating visitor such as yourself, Mr. Flyheight, and if I may . . ."

            Zeke grew bored of the mayor's prattling and chased a baked potato around his gilded plate.  He skewered it with one claw, and then, unable to get it off, began shaking his paw wildly.  The potato went flying across the room, landing on the floor in front of the doorway to the servant's pantry, which was, in turn, connected to the kitchen where this wonderful feast had been prepared.  "Rerrooor," he mumbled, darting his gaze around at the guests in self-consciousness, wondering if anyone had seen.

            "Watch it, buddy," Van hissed, elbowing his metallic friend and looking over at where the potato had fallen.  "You're supposed to be minding your mann . . . ers . . ."  His voice trailed off as he stared at a servant emerging from the pantry with a silver pitcher on her tray.  She expertly maneuvered the tray to one hand as she reached down with the other to retrieve the errant potato.  Walking over, she lifted her eyes for just an instant, and Van immediately noticed how their rich blue matched her hair exquisitely.  With Van's eyes upon her, she quickly looked down again, keeping her gaze downcast.  She refilled the wine glasses of all the dinner guests, moving her thin body with an easy grace that suggested these actions were a second nature to her.

            "I will bring you a new potato right away, sir," she said in a low voice to Zeke, so as not to distract the others from the mayor's speech.

            "Rorr?"  Zeke peered at the servant curiously, recognizing her as one of the faces in the crowd that morning.  What was she doing here?

            Van, who was completely preoccupied with watching the servant, suddenly felt a sharp kick under the table.  "Ow!  Huh?" 

            "Van."  Fiona was looking at him sternly, and he quickly realized that everyone else was, also, but in a more expectant than stern fashion.

            "Wha -- ?  Oh, um!  I'm sorry, what was that, Mayor?"

            "I was asking if you would accept my invitation, Mr. Flyheight."

            "Oh!  Yeah, sure!  That sounds great.  Thank you."  Van quickly grabbed his glass of water and gulped the cold liquid down, hoping that it would dispel some of the redness in his cheeks.  When he looked up again, everyone was listening to the mayor babbling, and the pretty, blue-haired girl was nowhere in sight.

            "Wow, Zeke, we don't often get to stay in first-rate accommodations like these, huh, pal?" 

            "Reerorr," Zeke agreed.  He was walking around sniffing everything – the paintings, the fireplace, the brocaded curtains.

            "Hey, be careful, that looks expensive!" Van cautioned as Zeke paused to carefully inspect and smell a delicate vase.

            There was the sound of shattering porcelain.  Zeke jumped back and roared in surprise, toppling over and crashing into a fancy table nearby.

            "Zeke!  I told you to watch it!  Now look what you did!"

            A crisp knock punctuated the air a few moments later.

            "Uh oh!  The mayor's gonna be so mad at us!  Um, uhhh, hold on one second!"  Van gestured to Zeke, who had stood up again and was clumsily trying to right the table.  "Okay, quick!  Hide the pieces of the vase under the carpet over there, and I'll turn the table around so you can't see the dent."  Hurriedly, they achieved a semblance of order.  "Um, come in!"

            The servant from dinner earlier opened the door and looked in.  "Is there a problem?  I thought I heard a loud noise, so I came to make sure you were alright."

            "Oh, um, no, I didn't hear anything, did _you_ hear anything, Zeke?"

            Zeke sweatdropped and threw up his paws in a mock shrug.  "Rerrr!"

            "Nope, no noise here!"  He laughed nervously.

            "I see."  There was a pause.  "Is there anything I can do for you?"

            Van instantly suppressed the first thought that popped into his head, and instead asked, "Yeah, what's your name?"

            The young woman's pale face flushed and she smiled, even as she still did not meet his glance.  "I am Lia.  You only have to ring the bell on the side of your bed if you need something, and I will come and serve you."

            "Hey Lia, nice to meet you.  Thanks for being so nice and stuff, but really, you don't have to be so uptight around us, right, Zeke?"  Zeke nodded.  "We're not emperors or anything.  You don't have to treat us so formally."

            "That's very kind of you, sir," Lia said, apparently not hearing what Van had just requested.  "Can I get you a warm drink?"

            "Well, no . . ."  Van was a bit flummoxed, wondering why she didn't just drop the servant-of-royalty act.

            "Then I wish you both a restful night, and I will be here if you need me."  With that, she walked out and closed the door curtly after her.

            "That didn't go the way I had planned," Van mused.  He kicked off his boots and sat down at the edge of the king size bed.  He looked at the bell, momentarily considering ringing it, until he realized that he didn't know what he would say once she came back.  "Oh well.  'Night, Zeke."

            Zeke roared softly from the couch across the room, already half asleep.


	2. Day Two

**JUXTAPOSITION**

**Written by Van, ©2003**

**ChaoticCentury.com**

II

            Lia woke up with the sun the next day, despite having gone to bed only a few hours before.  She stood, stretching, ignoring the pain in her shoulders and back from sleeping on a straw pallet night after night.  She looked out the grimy glass window.  The dusty landscape looked like molten gold with the light of the sunrise.

            "Tina, Tina," Lia called softly to the young girl still asleep on the other end of the pallet.  She stirred, then sat up abruptly, eyes like saucers.

            "The Zoid!  Do you remember the big Zoid yesterday?"

            Lia smiled.  "Yes, it was very exciting, wasn't it, to see a cool Zoid like that, up close?"  _And to see its pilot, too_, she thought to herself.

            "Yeah!  Can we see it again, sis?  Huh?  Can we?  Where did it go?"

            Lia frowned involuntarily.  "It's downtown.  I don't think we'll be able to see it again."

            "Oh."  Tina's face fell.  "That's no fair.  Why do we have to work so much?  I want to wear pretty clothes and go downtown and see the Zoid."

            "I know, honey.  Someday, though, you'll be able to have a Zoid of your very own."

            "Really?  I hope you do too, sis.  I know how much you love Zoids.  I bet if you had a Zoid, you'd be the best Zoid pilot on Zi!  Even better than Van Flyheight!"

            "Maybe."  Lia smiled ruefully.  Even if she had her own Zoid, she knew that she would never have the time to train to pilot it properly.  She had almost no spare time as it was, just trying to get enough food for herself, her sister, and her cat.  Although, Cirrus, to her credit, did pretty well on catching mice.  "Anyway, come on and get dressed.  We have to head out to the field soon."

            "What's for breakfast?"

            Just one left.  "I'll cook you a potato, sweetie."

            Van woke up several hours later.  He, unlike Lia, felt very well rested.  "Hey, Zeke!" he greeted his friend, who was gazing out the window at the beautiful landscaped grounds.  "Whaddaya say, pal?  You want to explore Sapphire City with me today?"

            "Roooor."  Zeke looked at him pointedly.

            "No?!  I am _not_ just going to go look for that girl, you know.  I'm sure she's downstairs.  We'll see her at breakfast."

            But, to Van's dismay, Lia was nowhere to be found that morning.  He ventured to ask the mayor, after breakfast.

            "Oh, her?  Lia?  She's just some farm girl.  She works here at night, after it's too dark to work in the fields, I think."

            "She doesn't spend the night here, though?  She was around pretty late last night because . . ."  Van paused and changed tactic before he revealed the broken vase.  "Well, me an' Zeke wanted some milk and cookies.  At two, I think.  She was still here."

            "Well, normally she leaves after the dinner dishes are cleaned up, but we hired her extra hours this week for your personal service, Mr. Flyheight."

            "Wow.  You really didn't have to do all that for me, Mr. Mayor."

            "It's no problem at all!  We want you to have many happy memories here in Sapphire City."

            "Yeah, okay . . ."  Van looked at Zeke, who blinked back at him.  "Okay, well, I think we're gonna go find Fiona and take the Liger out to explore.  Your town sure is big."

            "Have a good time, Mr. Flyheight.  We'll be having lunch at 1, if you'd like to join us."

            The night sky was clear and dappled with thousands of stars.  Van, Zeke, and Fiona were sitting on the balcony outside of Van's room on the second floor of the mayoral mansion.

            "So, Van, what do you think of Sapphire City?" Fiona asked, the two moons reflecting fluidly in her crimson eyes.  

            "It's beautiful.  I love the oases.  They remind me of the ones a few miles outside of the Wind Colony.  Do you remember?  The lemon trees?  You were so confused about those lemons . . ."  His voice trailed off and he looked at his feet.  Zeke blinked at his friend in wonderment.

            "Is there something bothering you?"

            "Nah.  Well, yes, actually . . . does it seem odd to you that Walton, Putney, and the people they invite over for these huge meals we have . . . that they live such comfortable lives?"  Van glanced upward and searched the inky heavens, as though searching for an answer.  "I haven't seen where Lia lives, but I can bet you that it's not as nice as this place.  And Walton was telling me this morning about how she works all day and then works here at night.  When does she get time to rest?"  Zeke rested his chin on Van's shoulder, sensing his frustration.  "Why is there such a disparity?"

            Fiona studied Van's face closely.  _He has such trouble understanding the presence of injustice and wrongdoing in this world.  He's so used to charging around, vanquishing evil wherever he finds it.  But not everything can be solved with a blade attack.  _"Van, some things just aren't fair," she said simply.

            "Yeah, I know.  I just wish I could do something to help her."

            "Well, she may not want your help.  It's condescending."

            Van sighed.  There was another little bell, on the exquisite, wrought iron table beside his chair.  "If I rang it, and she came, what would I say?"

            Zeke, trying to be helpful, retrieved the bell with his three claws, and dropped it clumsily into Van's lap.  "Thanks, buddy."  The three sat without saying anything for a few minutes.

            "Do you like her, Van?"

            A pause.  "Yeah."

            Fiona again focused her attention on the young man, searching his eyes.  He meant it.  "Maybe tomorrow."  Van looked over at Fiona, wondering what she was getting at.  "She's here to do what you ask her to," she continued, pointedly.

            He understood.  "You're right.  Maybe I could . . . yeah.  Yeah."  He stood, holding the bell tightly in his fist so that it could not ring.  "I think I want to get to sleep, Fiona."

            "Okay.  Sleep well, Van."  She stood also and followed Van and Zeke into the main room.  "Good night," she said, and left.

            Van closed the door to the balcony, to keep out the night chill.  "It's a lot easier when there's a clearly-defined threat, Zeke," he mused as he pulled off his leather and metal gloves and dropped them carelessly on the floor, where they landed with a quiet thud.  "You know?  You've got Raven.  You've got to either temporarily disable him or get away before he atomizes you.  You've got the Death Saurer.  You've got to destroy it before it destroys you.  It's all clear cut.  You know your problem, you know your options, you know your risks.  But what do you do about something like this?  What do you do when you don't know who is at fault?"

            Zeke growled.  He didn't really know the answer to these questions, and it was pretty late at night to be thinking about such complicated matters.  "Errerrrr," he suggested.

            "Maybe she likes Zoids?  Yeah, maybe."  Van pulled his shirt off and tossed it over his shoulder.  "Well, I guess it's time to go to sleep, and all we can do is hope for the best tomorrow."

            Zeke nodded his assent.  He curled up on the couch and drifted off almost immediately.  Van climbed into bed but lay awake for quite some time, staring at the canopy draped above him.


	3. Day Three

**JUXTAPOSITION**

**Written by Van, ©2003**

**ChaoticCentury.com**

III

            Van ate a hurried dinner, using as few dishes, glasses, and pieces of silverware as possible, so as to minimize the amount of work to be done afterwards.  He and Zeke galloped off to their room, where they sat around for fifteen minutes.  Van checked his appearance in the mirror no less than four times, a rarity for someone who usually didn't seem to care when his next bath would be.

            "Ready to show Lia a little fun, buddy?" Van asked, grinning widely at the little dinosaur.

            "ROOOOoooorrrr!"  Zeke lashed his tail excitedly.

            "Okay, here goes nothing."  Van picked up the bell next to his bed and shook his wrist ever so slightly.  It tinkled lightly, and they sat back, and waited.

            A knock at the door came presently.

            "Come in!" Van called.

            A servant came in, but it wasn't Lia.  "Y-y-yes?" asked a timid young man, visibly shaking.

            "Oh, hey," Van said, obviously surprised.  "Um, can I have some, um, do you know where Lia is?"

            "She's s-still w-w-washing dishes, sir."

            "Oh.  That's okay, I don't need anything, that's anyway!"

            "Certainly, s-sir."  He bowed awkwardly and left.

            They waited for several more minutes, when Van rang the bell again.

            The same servant reappeared.  "Yes, s-s-sir?"

            "Oh, nothing!  Thanks!"

            "Y-yes, sir."  The servant left.

            Unfortunately for the poor, nervous servant, Van repeated this process several more times, each time being disappointed even more that Lia did not come.

            "Hey Zeke, do you think we should just go find her?  Walton seems to like me a lot.  Maybe he'll think it's okay because it's me, and not someone else."

            "Rerr?"

            "I mean, I hate to abuse my fame like this, but . . ."  He balled his fists.  "Come on buddy, let's go.  I'm gonna go nuts if I have to stay and wait here another minute!"

            "Roorr!"  The pair dashed off to the dining room.

            Van was just charging towards the pantry door when it swung open, missing his nose my mere inches.  He barreled into the person emerging from it anyway, seeing as how he was unable to stop himself, and he and Lia were soon a pile of limbs on the floor.  Zeke sweatdropped.

            "Oh!  Hey, Lia!  Sorry to crash into you like this."  He helped her up.

            "Did you need something, Mr. Flyheight?" Lia asked, ever prim and proper.  She glanced behind her briefly to assure of Cirrus' avoidance of the collision.  Cirrus was standing nearby, delicately washing one paw as if nothing had happened.

            "Oh, um, yeah, actually, um, Zeke um, Zeke wanted some oatmeal."

            "Rerr?!"  Zeke seemed surprised by this, which Lia noticed.

            "So soon after dinner?" she asked.

            "Yeah!"  Van giggled in a bit too high of a pitch.  _Oh man, she's going to think I'm the biggest loser!  Stay calm, stay calm.  You're Van the man!  You can do this!_  "Well, actually, I don't want to put you to any trouble, cos Zeke isn't really hungry anyway, are ya, pal?"

            Zeke couldn't even answer, so lost was he.

            "So, ah, hey, are you busy right now?"

            "Not unless you need something, sir."

            "Well . . ."  Van scratched the back of his head.  "Actually, yeah, there is something I need."

            "What's that?"

            "I need _you_ to come with _me!_"  He grinned and grabbed her narrow wrist.  "C'mon, Zeke!"

            "Sir?!"  Lia had no choice but to follow after the boy and his organoid as they raced outside and off to the hangar, distantly visible in the dusk.  Cirrus was close behind.

            Lia screamed, partially in panic, partially in exhilaration, and partially in pain (since Cirrus had latched her claws into Lia to keep from being thrown into the back of the cockpit), as the Blade Liger increased its speed, swallowing up the desert hills in massive, powerful strides.  "You think this is fast?" Van asked, turning to look at her halfway.  "You ain't seen nothin' yet!  ZEEEEEEEEKE!"

            Zeke bellowed ferociously as he collapsed into light, soaring through the air and melding into the Liger.  Van grabbed hold of the booster handle and jammed it forward.  "MOBILIZE!"

            Lia was mashed into her seatback with unbelievable force.

            "Just relax.  The Liger will sense your confidence, and it'll respond to you."  Van, strapped into what was normally Fiona's seat, leaned forward and watched carefully her form.  She was incredibly tense, and the Liger followed suit, walking in such a twitchy fashion that Zeke, now following along on the ground, had to continually leap out of the way of its wandering paws.

            Lia was utterly terrified.  Before today, she had never been in the cockpit of a Zoid, let alone piloted one.  And here she was, in control of what was arguably one of the most powerful Zoids in the world – the very same Zoid that had destroyed the Death Saurer.  It was almost too much to take in at once.  And Van, so close behind her, his voice reverberating steadily in her ears – she almost fancied that she could feel his warm breath stirring her spiky hair.  Cirrus, on the other hand, was napping in her lap, completely undisturbed.

            Van swallowed hard, reached forward, and rested his hands on her shoulders.  "Relax," he whispered, giving them a gentle squeeze.  The Liger lurched violently.

            After about an hour, Lia had adjusted sufficiently that riding in the Liger was no longer a nausea-inducing affair.  They stopped at a rocky outcropping.  Van popped open the cockpit window, letting a surprisingly cool breeze through.  

            "I've never really seen the land from up this high, in light like this."  Lia and Cirrus were drinking it all in, as though this would be their last opportunity to view such disarming beauty.  Both moons were full, and the canyons and hills ahead were glowing silver.

            Van glanced at Cirrus.  "So Cirrus goes where you go, huh?  Kinda like Zeke, here."

            Lia nodded.  "Cirrus is my best friend.  It may sound silly, but she helps me take care of my little sister."

            "Really?"

            "Yes.  When I'm working at the mayoral mansion at night, Tina is all alone.  Cirrus watches over her.  She may be a little cat, but she is very protective.  And Tina loves the company.  We don't . . . we don't really have anybody else."

            "Just the three of you?"  Van gazed out over the landscape and pondered this.  It used to be sort of like that, before he had met Irvine and Moonbay.

            "Yeah, just us three."

            Zeke, lying on the panel covering the boosters, allowed his tail to dangle over the edge.  He swung it from side to side lazily, half listening, half dreaming.

            "Do you ever get lonely?"

            Lia looked down at Cirrus, biting her lip.  "No," she mumbled.  Van wasn't convinced, but he chose not to pursue the matter.

            "Well, it's late.  Let's get you home."  Lia gladly ceded control of the Blade Liger back to Van.  She smiled bashfully at him, still not daring to meet his eyes.  Van smiled back and strapped himself in.  "C'mon, Zeke."


	4. Exit: Day Four

**JUXTAPOSITION**

**Written by Van, ©2003**

**ChaoticCentury.com**

IV

            Lia let her head hang, resting it for a moment.  Her hands were filthy, her knees were sore, but there was a long while yet before it was time to clean herself up and head to the mansion.  She had been digging up weeds in one of the newly-planted fields all day, hunched on her hands and knees.  Tina, in an adjacent field, was probably getting tired now, too.  "This gets so tiresome, day in, and day out," she told Cirrus, who was sitting nearby.  "But last night?"  She sighed happily, thinking of the freedom she had felt in the Blade Liger.  That Zoid could carry her away from all her troubles, her tethers to this land, in a single leap.  And Van . . . why was he so kind to her, a lowly farmhand, a docile servant?  What did he see in someone like her, someone who wasn't going anywhere in life, who would be tilling this earth until she just keeled over one day and perished?  "I don't think it's something I'll ever understand.  He's Van Flyheight, worker of miracles, the wonder kid, the Zoid warrior who brought the Death Saurer to its knees.  And I'm just . . . me."  She sighed again, this time unhappily.  "I wish he was here right now."

            Cirrus jumped to her feet suddenly, and it was then that Lia became aware of a light whirring noise behind her.  She spun around.  There was Van, seated nonchalantly upon his hover board as if watching farmhands was a favorite hobby of his.  He stood and gave her an extremely exaggerated kowtow.  "I was summoned, madam?"  He straightened and flashed her a cocky grin, obviously poking fun at her formal demeanor at the mansion.

            "Um, I . . ."  Lia was at a loss for words, her mouth hanging open.  "Hey, wait a minute!  How long were you sitting there?!"

            "Madam, my most sincere apologies.  Humble Van shall leave Madam in peace."  He kowtowed again, and when he straightened once more, he was laughing silently.

            "Why, you . . . !"  Lia stopped, wide-eyed.  Had she just been about to _threaten_ him?

            "My, my!  Feisty today, are we?"  Van winked.

            "I'm very sorry, Mr. Fly—"

            "Great leapin' ligers!  Would you get off the whole formality trip already?!  Come on, there's something I want to show you."

            "I – I can't, Van, I have to work."  Lia suddenly realized how awful she looked: shiny, dirt-streaked face, filthy skin and clothes, and hair limp with sweat.  "I'm sorry."

            "Don't worry about it, Lia, it's all taken care of."  Van pointed to the overseer, standing several hundred yards away, who gave them a wave and a smile.

            Had she seen that correctly?  Mr. Steele had just _smiled?_

            "Um, but . . ."  How could she bring up the subject of the wages she would lose for leaving early?  It was too humiliating.

            Van seemed to sense her thoughts.  "Seriously.  Don't give it another thought.  Come on."  He hopped on his hover board, extending his hand.  Lia took it uncertainly, and allowed herself to be pulled up behind him.  "Hold on!"  Needing no further encouragement, Lia held onto Van's shoulders as they whisked off down the main road towards town.

            By the time Van slowed the Blade Liger to a stop, it was already almost dinnertime.

            "Van, we're so far away from town," Lia worried as they clambered out of the cockpit.  "I need to get back and help make dinner."

            "Lia."  Van turned to gaze at her seriously, grasping both her hands in his.  "I said don't worry about it.  That means . . . you don't worry about it.  You're fine."

            "Where are we?"

            "We're actually not far from my home.  This is the outskirts of the Wind Colony.  This is where I first met Zeke and Fiona, and where I found the Shield Liger.  See those ruins over there?"  He pointed.  "I got attacked by a group of bandits and had to hide in there.  They were firing at me, and the destruction to the walls opened up a hidden passage."

            Van sat down, arranging various foodstuffs he had brought for supper.  Lia sat down beside him as he recounted his adventures that fateful day.  She listened in wonder and amazement, imagining what it would be like to live a life like Van's, with excitement and danger around every turn.

            "You've had so many thrilling things happen to you."  She hung her head, somewhat ashamed, and remarked, "I've never even left Sapphire City before."

            "What?  Why?!"  Van seemed horrified.

            "I've never been able to.  I have to stay behind to take care of Tina.  Our parents died when we were very young."  _Why am I telling you all this?_ she chastised herself.  But, looking at the papaya-gobbling brunette seated beside her, she couldn't help but feel that it was okay to say these things to someone like him.

            "I'm sorry.  My dad died too, five years ago.  He died protecting the Wind Colony.  I never knew my mom, so, it's just me and Maria."

            Lia sighed, still staring into her lap.  "It's really hard, having to be all grown-up for Tina.  I'm only nineteen.  Sometimes I want to sit down and just cry until all my tears are dried up, but I have to put on a cheerful face.  If I lose hope, Tina will, too."

            "I don't know how you manage."

            "Yeah."  Lia poked her uneaten papaya with one finger.

            "I think you're really brave."

            She looked up, meeting his eyes briefly, wondering if he could possibly be serious.  This, from the boy who had put his life on the line to save the entire planet?

            "I mean it.  You're really strong, Lia.  I think that's amazing."

            There was a small smile on her lips, lips that enticed Van beyond anything he had ever felt before.  How badly he wanted to kiss her.  But then she stood up, and, face silhouetted by the moon, said, "Come on.  I need to get back.  Tina will wonder where I went."

            Van stood too, but he positioned himself between her and the Liger.  "Why don't you ever look at me?" he asked softly, eyes searching her downcast face.  He extended one hand, holding her chin in a feather light touch, and slowly raised it until he could see his reflection in the deep pools of her eyes.  "Don't be afraid of me."

            "I'm not, it's just . . ."  She pulled his hand off of her chin, and his hand hovered there in midair, for a moment.  He touched her hip, moving his palm up and down slowly.  "Van . . ."  She looked into his eyes again, and they glittered darkly.  He was watching his hand on her hip, and then he turned his attention to his hand now on the nape of her neck.  The metal knuckles of his gloves felt cold against her dirtied skin.  She looked away, ashamed at the burning knots her stomach was twisting itself into.

            He traced his hand down her collarbone, down the channel in the center of her ribcage, and to one side.  Lia flushed scarlet as she felt his fingers brush her breast.  He traced only its perimeter, still rubbing her hip.  Her body, despite her best efforts, reacted to his wispy touch, craving more.  He inhaled deeply, resting his palm directly on her breast, holding onto it now.  "Lia."  His voice was husky and unnatural.  Her eyes darted to meet his again.  His lips were parted and he was staring at her intensely.  Hesitantly she leaned forward.

            For just an instant she could feel his lips mere millimeters from hers, with the hot breath washing in and out between them like the ocean's tide.  And then, he kissed her, uncertain of what to do at first, but allowing himself to follow what seemed natural.  His lips were caressing hers, breathing softly upon them, enveloping them in wet softness.  Lia found the warning bells going off in the back of her head quieting gradually as she opened more and more to his advances.  She rested her hands on his strong shoulders, feeling them tighten and then relax.

            Van kissed her more emphatically as he sensed her echoing his desires.  He moved one hand from her hip to the small of her back, as the other began kneading her breast.  She moved closer to him, timidly searching out his tongue with her own.  Together, their breath increased in speed as they each became more aroused.

            Van pulled back for a moment, looking her over as if seeing her for the first time.  Lia blushed under his powerful gaze, but did not shrink away.  She lifted her arms as he reached for the hem of her tattered shirt and pulled it off.

            Her tight body was magnificent under the light of the rising moon, and Van felt his breath stolen away at the very sight of her.  Her skin was milky white where the sun and the earth had not touched.  Her breasts were round and full, and firm under his eager grasps.  He dragged his fingertips along them and cupped them, appreciating their weight and form.  Lia's eyes were closed and her face was turned away, but her nipples stood at attention.  Van toyed with them momentarily, pinching them gently between his fingers, and then moved to kiss her neck, working his way down her chest until he was sucking greedily on her breasts.

            "Van."  His face turned up immediately, eyes gleaming now from the light within.  But they clouded when he saw the way she looked at him.  She wore an expression of profound sadness, a sadness he could never understand.

            She took his hands and gently pulled him up until they were eye level with one another, but she could not meet his gaze any longer.  She put her shirt back on wordlessly.

            "What's wrong?"  There was a tinge of panic in his voice, of fear scarcely held in check.  "Lia?  What is it?"

            She did not answer, but instead, hugged him tightly, pulling his body close to hers.  He placed his hands lightly on her back, obviously unsure of what he should be doing.

            "I'm sorry, Van."  When she pulled away, there were tears in her eyes.  

            "Come with me, Lia.  You can come with me, and leave all of this behind."  The tone of his voice was desperate; his throat was swelling and his face was crumpling.  A solitary tear wandered down his face and pooled at the red streak on his cheek, magnifying its blood-like hue.  The confusion in his eyes betrayed his struggle to understand what was happening.  "Please."

            But she was already walking back towards the Blade Liger.

            Late that night, Van awoke Fiona and Zeke, and they quietly departed under the cloak of darkness.

            Lia listened to the confused chatter of the mayor and his associates the next day.  No one knew where Van had gone, or why he had left without a proper farewell.

            Somehow, she managed to stifle her tears that day, and many days after, and go on with her work, ever silent and obedient.

_

"At the touch of love, everyone becomes a poet."  ---Plato

_


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